The 2Cs

A big part of Cardigan Associates' focus is on helping moms come back to paid work or pivot in their careers. Sidelined by the pandemic and home with kids or perhaps coming back from an intentional time focused on caregiving, moms we work with have two big issues: what I call the 2Cs —  confidence and childcare.

In the early days of the pandemic, I was researching the premise for Cardigan Associates: the idea that we'd focus on a career coaching business for women, especially women who had left the workforce. After speaking with women across the country, a universal theme emerged: women weren't sure they had the skills to rejoin the workforce, they weren't confident in their ability to interview well, and they weren't confident that colleagues would respect that they stayed home for a while. So, a focus of my work is to boost women's confidence. Working with clients on each resume and cover letter, helping them practice interviewing, try out a negotiation — all these efforts help women succeed in their job search.

There's another huge barrier to moms (and dads, too) who want to return to paid work: childcare. As the pandemic's length has extended (and at times, seemed unending), the childcare crisis has loomed larger as a barrier to women returning to paid work. Childcare, of course, is not a women's issue or a mom's issue; it's everyone's issue. And it's also an issue that pre-dates the pandemic. But, we've reached a crisis level. The most successful companies are parent/non-parent diverse as well as every other kind of diverse. We cannot have parents in the paid workforce without good childcare. Subsidies, flex schedules, remote work options — these all help. Vivvi and Bobbie are two companies doing this right. Mother Honestly and The Mom Project are two organizations that speak loudly and clearly on this issue.  

We also need to value caregivers — both paid and unpaid — more in our society. This means paying better wages to those who care for our children and seriously considering how we support those who stay home and take care of children. There are no easy answers to the childcare crisis, but it's past time that we find solutions.